


Things

by TheStrangerWhoWrites



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst and Humor, Animal Abuse, Animal Death, Bullying, Canon Jewish Character, Demons, Derry (Stephen King) is Terrible, Donald Uris is a mess, Elfrida Marsh is an Angel, Female Pennywise (IT), Frank Kaspbrak is a good leader, Gay Male Character, Guns, Homophobic Language, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pennywise (IT) Being an Asshole, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Period-Typical Sexism, Psychological Horror, Racist Language, Sexist Language, Stephen King References, Teen Crush, Teenagers, The Shining References, The Summer Of 1962, Wentworth Tozier is a Little Shit, William Hanlon is a Good Friend, Zach Denbrough is an asshole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:48:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22411264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStrangerWhoWrites/pseuds/TheStrangerWhoWrites
Summary: Everyone knows the story of the Loser Club and how they eventually defeated the killer clown of Derry.But what came before them?"Summer may no longer mean much for the majority of the town, but for the children of Derry, it was everything. Papers filled with countless notes fly through the air as free as the students who disregarded them. Smiles lit up the faces of each excited youngster, greeting them with a feeling nothing could replace. Frank Kaspbrack rested his back against the wall of Derry Middle School, waiting for the sound of his friend’s rushed footsteps as they hurried their way out to the sidewalk."
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Things

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I plan to finish this one, I already have some of the second chapter done, so stay tuned for fairly regular updates.  
> Also, so there is no confusion.  
> Frank Kaspbrak: Eddie's Dad  
> Elfrida White/Marsh: Beverly's Mom  
> Wentworth Tozier: Richie's Dad  
> Donald Uris: Stan's Dad  
> Zach Denbrough: Bill's Dad  
> William Hanlon: Mike's Dad  
> I hope you enjoy! (:

The summer of 1962 did not hold many expectations for most living in the town of Derry, this was because Derry mostly consisted of adults, whose idealization of summer was tarnished by its own insignificance when put under the lens of a working man’s eyes. If anything, summer had turned into a thing more from their nightmares as not only did it stop gifting them time, it began to deliver those free hours of magic to versions of themselves they could no longer understand, creating distance between those who need care and their givers, one that was often filled with bitterness as the gift eventually took away their ability to relate with those who were lucky enough to still feel the joy it brought. Summer may no longer mean much for the majority of the town, but for the children of Derry, it was everything. Papers filled with countless notes fly through the air as free as the students who disregarded them. Smiles lit up the faces of each excited youngster, greeting them with a feeling nothing could replace. Frank Kaspbrack rested his back against the wall of Derry Middle School, waiting for the sound of his friend’s rushed footsteps as they hurried their way out to the sidewalk.

Frank, unlike the other children in Derry, did not joyfully throw his papers away as soon as the bell rang, a smile had not yet crossed his face. The first thing he did when the bell rang was unlock his bike, that at one point appeared to be a smooth silver, now only showed the faded color of rust, reflecting the lack of care he held for the old scraps of metal. He would rather use the pickup truck sitting idle under a pale tarp in his front yard to get him and his small group of friends around, but while Frank may be a very old soul, he was only at the ripe age of fourteen, one grade above his comrades of thirteen, which was why his first act of summer was to spin his wheels over to Derry Middle, annoyed at the inconvenience of the situation, but not minding the wait he had to put up with to see the five people he cared for more than he cared for himself. Frank could not bring back a time in his life when his friends were strangers to him, the first thing he can recall happening in the timeline of his existence was attending a chubby baby’s birthday party, that of the baby who would grow to be the meek Donald Uris he knew today. Even when looking back at that moment, he brought up the remembered feeling of familiarity upon seeing his fat little legs do the best they could at moving him from the slides to the sandbox where a young Elfrida, one day Mrs.Marsh, sat neatly next to a confused looking Zach Denbrough, who was doing his best to figure out why the sand he was shoving into his mouth did not taste the way his slice of cake did. 

They were more cemented in his life than the woman who gave birth to him, whose face he had no ability to picture even if he wished to do so. The only reason he knew what his father’s appearance resembled was because his Uncle took the time to show him photographs so old Frank wondered if they might deteriorate under his touch. He did not feel upset over the lack of what people would call a normal family, Frank was happy when he was a small child, content sharing the milestones of his journey to becoming a man with just his uncle, even going so far as coming to the conclusion that if he got a choice over who he was going to be raised by, he would choose the man who effortlessly treated Frank as if he were his own over the young big city couple who suddenly decided raising a baby was not something they wanted to do. Frank could almost hear Donald’s nervous voice in his ear, insisting that “Everything happens for a reason” a saying that the teen went back and forth in believing, however, he did admit that so far his life seemed to provide the perfect evidence for said statement; If his parents had not left him with his uncle in Derry, then he would not be waiting for his best friends to get out of school right now. Frank pulled out the comb he kept in the right pocket of his leather jacket, his hair did not need to be given the once over, in fact, the light brown locks were being very well behaved, he just wanted something to do while he stood there, he considered taking out one of the toothpicks he kept on him for Wentworth Tozier to chew on when he got what the group referred to as “spazzy” wondering if it’s use would bring him some form of entertainment. He was about to fiddle with the small sharp thing after he tucked his comb back into his pocket when he heard the door he was standing by open with a bang, Zach Denbrough making his presence known to anyone who might be outside with an unnecessarily loud cry of ecstasy pumping his fist into the air.

“Boom boom baby!” he yelled in victory, engaging multiple reactions from the entourage behind him. Donald nearly jumped out of his skin hands flying up to try and pull his friend’s arm down, eyes suddenly wide behind the reading glasses he insisted wearing at all times, mouth open as he tried to protest with words, managing a sound that was closer to a squeak than anything else, allowing Zach to power on with his actions. “Another school year down!” he cheered causing Wentworth, who only now took the time to look up from his book, giving the other teen the attention he so desperately craved. “We got another school year down-” he moved his hand off the book he was keeping in front of his face, having every intention to continue reading it once this interaction was over, pointing his finger at the other. “There is no way in hell your dumbass passed.” He stated as if it were a fact completely, deadpan with his teasing, something his friends had gotten used to over time, learning not to take it personal. He did his best to quickly return his eyes back to the page he was halfway through reading when Zach fully shrugged off Donald who was still desperately tugging at his jacket to pull Wentworth into a headlock, knocking his beloved copy of “Lord of the Flies” to the ground. “You’re not getting me down today specks!” he shouted with a smirk starting to rub his hand through the other boy’s dark black hair. 

Wentworth clearly did not want this, pushing on his captor’s chest, legs flailing around the best they could to aim for the taller teen’s shin. “Off me.” he growled, clearly conveying that he was angry without needing to scream in the way Zach or Frank did when they were truly mad. It was spoken as an order as if Zach were a dog getting just a tad too rough with him and like a disobedient dog Zach chose not to listen. He often put himself above most of the other members of the group, especially Wentworth and Donald. At first glance, both of them seemed like the weakest of the pack. They were the shortest members of the gang, Donald being the shorter out of the two, they had glasses, although Donald didn't really need to wear them at all times, they got straight As, Wentworth did not try for A’s though, as he explained to his slightly envious friends. “It just happened.” When doing work or taking tests he knew what was the right thing to put, because it was the right thing to put, he himself could not explain it any further while Donald worked hard to make sure every assignment he turned in was as close to perfect as possible. Still, he seemed to understand Wentworth’s explanation of his miraculous ability to get good grades, as well as other things. Wentworth had never lost a bet among their group, he could predict the ending of a book on its first page, and he knew who was the first kid to go missing before anyone told him. Donald was always second-guessing himself, if you told him the exact answers to a test right before he was supposed to take it, he would still fret over the possibility of not picking the correct answer. On the surface, the timid teen was sure of nothing other than his faith in Judaism. If he was not using his free time to study, you could probably find him praying, or taking part in other acts of worship in the town’s temple. His friends had joked about his strict devotion to the religion, for example, if they began to talk about one of the many things Donald considered to be “vulgar” or “sinful” they would bow their heads before asking “Rabbi Donald” for forgiveness. He earned that nickname after Elfrida innocently asked what the Jewish equivalent of a priest was, a week later Wentworth was the first to call him a Rabbi after he insisted on having a Jewish burial for the cat who used to hang out with them in the junkyard. Elfrida, who insisted the cat was a girl, affectionately called the red-haired tabby Beverly, deeming the animal to be worthy of her favorite name. Most of the group were fine with calling the cat that, except for Zach who was hell-bent to prove the cat was a boy, refusing to call her anything else but “Killer” getting his best friend William Hanlon to join in on doing so. It started a little bit of a war amongst their gang, Frank and Donald picking Elfrida’s side against Zach and William’s. Wentworth did not care enough to get involved. The closest he got to picking a side was throwing a wad of crumpled paper at Zach’s head, trying to get him to shut up about it so he could do his homework in peace. 

Elfrida got her way, as she tended to, the cat becoming known around town as “Beverly the junkyard cat” for about two weeks.

Donald and Wentworth found the dead animal shoved into Elfrida’s locker as they were running errands for their history teacher Mr. Creed. Wentworth had convinced the other to take the long way on the reasoning of “I feel like we should.” Donald had paused before they went down the hallway, his face crumbling in pain, looking so distraught Wentworth thought he might become sick. He did once they got to their friend’s locker. Blood slowly dripping from the bottom of the door where a ginger tail stuck out.

They spent the rest of the period cleaning up the bloody mess Ellmer Bowers had left behind, Donald in tears as he carefully wrapped Beverly's mangled body in the scarf Elfrida gave to him that morning, claiming it was too cold to be without one as Wentworth ran to the bathroom to get more paper towels, showing absolutely no emotion as he carried out his actions, disconnecting himself from the situation. 

When they were finished, Wentworth dropped himself to the ground next to where Donald had not yet moved, still running his fingers over the face of the animal as if the petting was bringing the dead creature some sort of comfort. Wentworth put an arm around him, making the other teen flinch. Wentworth had never been very physical with his friends. Elfrida constantly looked for an opportunity to give someone a hug or play with another group member’s hair. William was happy to hold anyone of his friends in his arms, making playful physical contact with all of them through light shoving, or a punch on the arm. Zach was the same way, going so far as to lift his friends up in the air, maybe start a wrestling match. Frank was as affectionate as he could possibly be with all of them, using both words and actions to show his care, Donald had received forehead kisses from him, everyone in the group had. Wentworth was the only one who tried to avoid the hugs, clearly becoming uncomfortable at the smallest amount of touching. Zach was the only one who had not caught on to that fact. So to feel him wrap his arm around his side was surprising. However, Donald still leaned into his touch, sniffling as Wentworth squeezed his body gently.

“It hurts-” was the first thing Donald brought himself to say. “To see her like this- It's more than seeing- it’s- it’s-”

“I know.” Wentworth sighed, keeping his eyes down as he spoke. “You can’t let yourself feel everything Donald.” His voice was uncharacteristically tender, doing his best to soothe his friend.

“Zach thinks you never feel anything”

“I would rather die than admit to Zach I feel.”

That earned a sad chuckle from the boy a mess on the ground, unsure as to why it caused him to do so. Wentworth was sure of every word he spoke, Donald wondered if he himself was sure of anything and somewhere deep in his subconscious he wished he could be like him. 

“What does Zach know anyway- other than how to annoy the shit out of everyone every single day of his damn life”

“Guess I have something in common with him after all”

Wentworth flicked the side of Donald’s temple, an “Ow” soon leaving his lips as he tried to move away without breaking the hold of his friend’s arms. “Frank would kick your ass if he heard you say something like that, you are lucky it’s just me here to thump you in the head.” Frank held an insane amount of respect for not only himself but his friends as well. He was always ready to complement any of them on anything. He never wanted his friends to see themselves as anything other than amazing people. “We are different. I do not know how, but people like Zach are not like us- does that make sense?” 

They both moved to meet each other’s eyes. It was odd, Donald considered all of this to be odd, he knew what Wentworth was talking about, he knew the feeling of being what he called different, but he did not know exactly what that was. He figured that Wentworth must feel the same way, and without exchanging any words they both understood that it wasn’t something for them to know.

Wentworth and Donald did not often share those moments, Donald was nowhere near being as close to Wentworth as Frank was with him, but there was something between them neither could explain. Something that caused Zach to see them as the weakest. Then again, The only members of his friend group he didn’t consider to be weak in some way were Frank and Willam. He would never grab them in the way he did Wentworth. “Nope!” he gleefully cheered, continuing to jostle the other around in his grip. “You are not allowed to be a sour pus today” Wentworth managed to move his head up enough to bump Zach’s teeth together, causing him to hiss, letting go of the scrawny teen. “I’m allowed to do whatever the fuck I want-” He spat with much more anger then Zach every intended to cause. “Hey,” Eldrifa called gently, desperate to diffuse whatever was going on between her friends. “Donald has something he wanted to say.”

Suddenly all eyes turned to Donald, who was wishing he no longer had anything to say. “Uh…” he swallowed nervously, doing his best to think over what he would say in his mind before speaking. Trying not to stumble over his words. “We could get in trouble if anyone hears us- so- maybe we could, not yell loudly.” He gave Zach a smile, trying to pad the nonexistent blow his words carried. “Yeah-” Wentworth agreed with a nod, taking the attention off of Donald who was extremely thankful taking the opportunity to rub his palms off on his jeans once his friends moved their eyes off of him. “You begged us-”

Zach looked bewildered at Wentworth’s claim sputtering on the air as he looked for the words to defend himself. “Uh- like- like” he paused, bouncing up and down on his heels, mouth open as he searched for the right thing to say. Zach was never good with words, he had no trouble speaking, he could give a speech without stuttering once, as long as he had a script to stick to he was fine. The challenge was finding his own words to say. His mind often running way too fast for him to catch. Zach had the same problem when trying to write, he could create an entire movie in his head without much effort. Plotting out a complete story in the span of his thirty-minute lunch period. But when trying to put his thoughts on paper he never knew what to say. 

“Real quick on your feet I see-” Wentworth crossed his arms as he spoke, pretending to check the Rolodex watch resting on his wrist. The group was normally patient with Zach, letting him take all the time that was needed to figure out what to say as he tended to lash out when being talked over however Wentworth was not in a mood to care about his feelings, especially after the spectacle he caused before this conversation. “Shut up!” Zach spat much louder than he was before, sending Donald into a spiral of nervous fidgeting, Elfrida turning her focus on trying to calm him down, shushing the boy as she pulled him into her space. Wentworth seemed unaffected, not even flinching at the spit that landed on his face, calmly reaching his hand up to wipe it away. “You practically begged us, better?” sometimes calming Zach down was as easy as distracting a kitten with a piece of string. “Better.” he huffed, William rubbing his temples in response to seeing how dim-witted his best friend could be. 

Wentworth finally began to finish his sentence. “To skip out with you, so don’t be a prick, I know this is a hard concept for your loudmouth to grasp, but if someone hears us we are getting in trouble-”

“Well I heard you so does that mean you guys, does that mean you’re in trouble?”

The entire group lit up at the sound of Frank’s voice all feelings of anger being dropped instantly, even Wentworth could be caught with a small grin on his face, one that Frank returned stepping closer to them. He was enjoying the show his friends put on, Frank had always been one to find enjoyment out of watching others. It wasn’t until the toothpick he ended up chewing on broke in his mouth that he decided to approach them. “Frank!” Elfrida squealed, letting go of Donald to hop on her friends back wrapping her body around him. Frank gave a warm laugh, spinning her around as she giggled. 

Elfrida was known for being touchy, not just with her friends, she would great strangers with hugs, or kiss them gently on the cheek. She had so much passion and love for everything and everyone, it tended to make her peers uncomfortable, not understanding how she could let others in so close. Her female peers called her a harlot, assuming that her constant show of physical contact led to things “good girls” should not do before marriage, while the males called her a tease, as contrary to what the girls believe her behavior was not connected to a sexual desire. She just wanted to be close with people, give them a sign to show her care. It was the way her older sister was with her. Every time she walked through the door of her house, you could almost guarantee that her sister would be there to scoop her up in her arms as if she were still a five year old. Like Frank Elfrida didn’t really know her own parents very well, for different reasons. Her father never liked living in Derry, not many people do, small towns lose their charm after a while, the peaceful atmosphere slowly turning into boredom. He tried to stick it out for his family, but he could not force himself to be something he was not. He was not the simple suburban man his wife had wanted him to be. He left three years after Eldfria was born sending her mother into a depression, one of which she had still not recovered from. Her mother did not leave her bed in the daytime, her sister Abby was the one expected to cook and clean, she was even the one to do the grocery shopping. She mowed lawns, babysat and dog walked to pay for both herself and her little sister to get by. Of course, things were easier for them now that Abby was eighteen, but through the years of hardship, no matter how much she had to give up for Eldrifa she never once made her feel like a burden. She was always there to hug her and support her. She even welcomed the group of boys she called her best friends into their home with open arms. Elfrida aspired to be like her, she wanted to make others feel as loved as her sister made her feel. 

“Your underwear is showing.” Wentworth said matter a factly not paying much attention to the sight of her miniskirt slowly riding up on her hips, he was more focused on retrieving his book from the ground, gently brushing the dirt off of its cover before tucking it safely under his arm. “Why do you always have to ruin good things?” Zach, who was intrigued by the sight, grumbled as Elfidra gasped, letting go of Frank as she tugged her skirt back down. “Gosh-” she muttered, her face getting almost as red as Donald’s currently was. He would have let her know if he wasn't too busy covering his eyes, as if she stood completely naked before them. “Don’t be gross Zach” Frank sighed, putting a hand on his chest to push the other teen out of his way to give William a hug. 

Willam was the only friend he had not known since he was a toddler, making him the one person at their school who was able to earn a spot among their ranks. Some before him had tried, being friends with Frank certainly had its benefits. He was the only person who could keep the Bowers and their group at bay. Oscar also known as “Butch” Bowers was not too big of a problem for them because of Frank having the guts to stand up for them. The first time he dared to target Frank’s friends was when they entered the sixth grade. Butch and Frank were not on the best terms with one another to start with as Frank had to tolerate an entire year with him before his friends got there. 

They argued a few times over the way Butch talked about the girls in their class and his overwhelming need to share his opinion on races that were not his own. It never led to anything serious, Butch knew that he could not push Frank around the way he could his other classmates. Unlike most kids in his grade, Frank was a very tall well-built teen, he knew how to fight thanks to his uncle, and went out of his way to let Butch know that if he ever crossed a line, he would most certainly kick his ass. Surprisingly, Butch was able to avoid doing so for an entire school year. It wasn't until his friends’ first day in sixth grade that he pissed him off enough to get into a fight.

Frank was showing them around the school, walking each one of them to their lockers, overjoyed that he would no longer have to miss out on spending time with them during school hours when Wentworth left the group to get a drink at the water fountain that was a few halls over. Wentworth seemed out of it that morning, he kept clicking his pen, occasionally chewing on the end of it to keep himself from talking. He would stop walking to start jumping in place when he did walk it was much faster than the pace he normally kept. Frank had given him one of his toothpicks, it did not seem to help. When they got him to talk, all he managed to say was: “I feel like something bad is going to happen.” Zach laughed at this, chalking his behavior off to being nervous about being in a new school, while Frank became concerned. Wentworth didn’t seem nervous to him, the only person in their group that was clearly nervous was Donald who kept pushing up his glasses and running his fingers through his hair. When Wentworth got nervous he joked or spoke in a deeper voice than he usually would. To Frank, he seemed scared. It took a lot for Frank to refrain from pulling the shorter teen into his arms, but he knew that wouldn’t help. He almost followed Wentworth when he left, an action he would regret not doing later, instead, he let him go by himself, hopeful that he would come back feeling better. 

Minutes passed, the bell rang, he had still not returned, causing his group to go look for him. They found him lying on his back near the lockers, blood gushing out of his nose as he stared up at the white ceiling with an empty glare, as if he was somewhere, anywhere else but there, so motionless Zach’s first words upon seeing him were: “Holy shit he’s dead” causing him to move slightly. “Not dead asshole-” he muttered as Frank rushed to his side along with Donald and Elfrida, placing his hand over the other’s chest, feeling his body for injuries something Wentworth could not bring himself to respond to, rolling his head to the side as his best friend continued to frantically pat his body down. “I think it’s just a bloody nose Frank-” he eventually got himself to say once Frank started moving closer to his ankles.

“Who did this to you-” He demanded already in tears, running a hand through Wentworth’s dark hair.

“I’ve been here one day, do you expect me to know names-”

Frank shook his head, continuing the conversation without skipping a beat.

“What did he look like then?”

Wentworth shrugged in response as Donald helped him sit up. 

“Tall…” his voice trailed off slightly, taking off his glasses as he did his best to pull up what the person looked like. “Almost as tall as you, light brown hair, looks way too old to be in junior high-” Frank was suddenly upon his feet, yelling something about “That mother fucker” before dragging Butch out of his homeroom and beating him in the hall, making him pay for the punch he gave to his best friend. 

Frank was suspended for a week after that, using his first day to take Wentworth, who agreed to skip that day with him, out for ice cream. The only incident they had with him after that was when they welcomed William into their group. Frank may be a great friend to have, but so was William. There was no chance William would ever turn his back on the people who saved his life. If Zach, his best friend, insisted the cat’s name was “killer” then he insisted it too. He was the type of person who would grab a shovel if any of his friends came to him with a dead body. The most loyal of the group by far. He was also a very determined young teen. Enduring torture from Al Marsh, Butch Bowers, and his little brother, Elmer for years, doing his best to keep hope that maybe they would change their mind or give him an opportunity to speak even if his father thought his ideas were completely ludicrous. 

His father did his best to try and convince William to continue being homeschooled by him as he was up until middle school, but he would not have it. He fought hard to be able to go to the same school everyone else in the town went to. Going to the principal himself, doing everything short of getting down on his knees and begging the man to let him be a public student. He would spend hours standing outside of his office, drawing the attention of Elfrida, who would wave at him with a sweet smile, striking up a conversation every now and then before heading out with her friends. She was one of the first people to treat William like what he was, a normal person. He couldn’t understand why people had to make such a big deal out of differences that did not matter. His skin color did not make him any less of a human. He was just as important as everyone else in his town, he knew that. He believed that if he had the chance to talk with others, they would know it too. The principal was able to understand, as he eventually gained the right to attend Derry Middle, so why couldn’t his peers? 

He expected a bit of backlash, he was used to the name-calling and spitting, however, he never anticipated the extremes Butch and his little brother went to. Al did not seem to care as much as they did, only joining in on their cruelty when being told to. Butch always lead the attacks on him, Elmer not far behind, quickly joining in to please his brother, leaving William covered in bruises. His father laughed at him every time he noticed a new mark left on his son’s body, claiming it was punishment for his own stupidity. Doing his best to force him into believing that no matter how hard he fought, it would not change anything, William still refused to get into that state of mind, keeping the hope that deep down there was a bit of good in everyone. He almost lost that. Laying on the ground, holding his head in his hands as he desperately tried to protect himself, screaming as feet were kicked into his stomach, he wondered if anyone really cared about him. How could he speak if no one cared to hear? He had no friends, no support, he contemplated just giving in when he heard a gun go off, stopping everyone dead in their tracks.

“Is the gun really necessary Zach?” Elfrida asked in a hush as Frank made sure his group was out of harm’s way. “I second that” Donald chimed in “Guns are- unpredictable death machines, they could realistically go off at any moment and we are just kids we don’t know- we can’t know how to use guns, where did you even get it?-” Zach lifted up his hand, clearly not willing to listen to his friend’s opinions about the gun he stole from his dad’s bedside drawer. “Both of you can It!” he called over his shoulder, holding the weapon as straight as could. 

“I agree with the duck and calendar girl if anyone shouldn’t have a gun it’s you hot head”

Zach gave a loud “Ha” at Wentworth’s words, tilting his head to the side slightly as he licked his lips. “Brave words from a man without a gun in his hand-”

“Oh knock it off, put the fucking gun away!” Frank snapped stepping in front as Zach did what he was told, clearly not very happy about it, but doing it all the same, slipping it into the pocket of his coat.

Soon after Frank came forward, he was pushing the boys who crowded around William away, Butch quick to hold his brother back from attacking the taller teening knowing a fight with Frank and his gang would not end well for any of them, especially when one someone on his side had a gun. Frank held his hand out to William, who was shocked to see him offer it, almost scared to take it, but he was glad he did, relying on his strength to pull him up off the ground. “I’m not gonna sugar coat it buddy” Frank chuckled, brushing off some dirt on William’s clothes. “You look like hell.” That got William to chuckle with him, using his sleeve to wipe away the blood coming from his lip. “I’ve looked worse” he smiled, Zach clapping at his statement, everyone’s heads turning to him in confusion. “See I like that!” he yelled pointing to his finger towards them. “That’s the kind of attitude we need in our group!” 

Wentworth moved his hand up to his mouth, faking a cough as he muttered: “Kiss ass” causing Zach to lose his shit. “I kiss no one’s ass!”

“I think that’s up for the new kid to decide- new kid! Do you feel like your ass has been kissed?”

William didn’t know how to respond to Wentworth’s question at first, he had no clue what to think about any of this. It seemed like these strangers cared more about him than he ever thought someone would in only a matter of seconds after seeing him.

“Thoroughly” he answered with a grin, seemingly pleasing all of them with that. 

Elfrida started cracking up, doing her best to hide the giggles slipping away from her lips, Donald uncontrollably joining in with her. One by one Frank’s group began to laugh, even Zach himself joining. 

“What the fuck is going on?!” Butch grumbled, the laughter coming to a stop as their minds focused back to the serious matter at hand. Frank grabbed Butch by the collar of his shirt his fun-loving gleam suddenly gone, replaced with a cold, deadly glare, Butch swallowing hard as he stood there in the other’s grip. “Well- to me it looks like I’m putting you back in your place.” Frank grit, doing his best not to scream into the bully’s face. “See that kid over there- hey- bud!” he used his free hand to grip the battered teen’s shoulder. “What’s your name?” he inquired calmly, using a tone much different from the one he was just speaking in. “William-” he said proudly, so happy to be asked, “William Hanlon.”

Frank extended his hand to him again, this time for him to shake. “Frank Kaspbrak-” William accepted his hand as he did the first time, letting go as Frank pulled away to point at the people behind them. “These are my friends, the guy on the right, with the bow tie-” Wentworth stepped forward on his description, taking William’s hand in his. “I can introduce myself, Wentworth Tozier. I’m sure that he was going to say that I’m the killjoy of the group” Frank gently pat him on the back, something he currently didn’t mind at the moment, Frank was usually the exception to the unspoken no-touching rule. 

“I was going to say I like you the most but I guess that title has to go to Zach now-”

“Oh don’t humor me Frank and beans”

Elfrida was the next to introduce herself, ignoring the angry sound’s Zach was making. She did a small curtsy as she took his hand lightly, letting him lead the shake. “Elfrida White a pleasure to meet you again William-” She leaned in giving him a small peck on the cheek, Butch making a sound of disgust at the affection, causing Frank to shake him around in his grip as if he were a rag doll, rendering him silent. “It’s nice to see a new face- oh! Honey let me take care of you.” She removed the blue scarf off her shoulders using the fabric to aid William’s split lip, dabbing at the cut with care. “I’m used to fixing up these boys they get into more scrapes then I can keep track of.” She tilted her head to the side, shushing William slightly as he winced, continuing to tend to the mark on his face. “I know it hurts darling, don’t think I haven’t had a fair share of scrapes myself, most of them from chasing cats, but still-” That got William to smile once more, taking his attention off of the pain and on to the girl in front of him, who smiled back. “You should come back to my house after this so I can give you the full motherly treatment we were already planning on going there for dinner I’m sure my sister wouldn’t mind setting another place for you to eat with us.” William was about to tell her that she was kind inviting him over before declining over the concern of upsetting the other members in her house when Zach shoved her aside, grabbing his hand. “Zach Denbrough! I’m the best one of the group-” The others let out a collective groan at that statement. “I say we need more people in the group like you before we get overrun with weirdos like Donald”

“Hey-” Donald called, clearly offended by that. Zach made room for the timid teen to approach, letting Donald reach out for William’s hand. “Hi- uh, My name is Donald Uris, um, I don’t know what to say, I’m Jewish, and I like to draw landscapes...that was nowhere near as cool as everyone else’s introduction was.” He hung his head avoiding eye contact, letting Frank pull him into a side hug. “You’ll get there one day pal” He hummed, letting go only to finish dealing with the boy he still kept in his grasp. 

“I’m sure you already know, this waste of space I have in my hand-” He moved his arm back and forth, roughly leading him by the neck of his shirt. “Is Oscar Bowers, or “Butch” as idiots call him.” Elmer was about to protest when Frank grabbed him as well. Pulling the boy close despite his squirming. “This is his little brother Elmer Bowers, he hasn’t picked out an annoying nickname yet, but he’s annoying all the same.” He turned his body away from William, looking the two boys up and down. “Now that we all know each other, You two, Elmer and Oscar Bowers are going to leave William Hanlon, Wentworth Tozier, Elfider White, Zach Denbrough and Donald Uris alone, if you don’t then you will deal with me, Frank Kaspbrack. Do you understand?” Butch nodded avoiding making eye contact with anyone, including his little brother who looked livid but didn’t say a word. He knew better than to question Butch by now. It did not take long for them to run away once they were let go. Frank’s friendly demeanor coming back as soon as they were out of sight, Zach leaning down to pick up William’s bag. “Welcome to the group Will!” Zach cheered, William suddenly feeling more a part of anything then he ever was before. From then on, William was an honorary member of their little family. He may not have known Frank for as long as the others did, but sometimes it felt like he did anyway. Willam gladly brought Frank into his arms, patting him on the back a few times. “Good to see you man.” he hummed. 

Frank went around the group greeting his friends with a hug stopping when he got to Wentworth. Instead of wrapping his arms around him he held them open waiting for him to make the first move. “Alright, come here you sap-” Wentworth moved into his space, tossing the book in his arms to the side as he hugged Frank’s torso, being put in control of the contact. “I missed you,” Frank whispered pulling back to place both of his hands on the shorter teen’s shoulders. “It hasn’t even been a day Frank you act as if I’ve just come back from war-” the deadpan of Wentworth’s words got him to laugh, as they tended to do, squeezing his shoulders as he kept eye contact. “Are you saying school isn’t war!” Zach interrupted, causing Wentworth to pull away from Frank, who wished he could have held him just a bit longer. “We just finished a year-long battlefield-”

“You can’t finish a battlefield, Zach, that doesn’t make any sense” Wentworth sounded tired as he spoke, and Frank couldn’t tell if it was put on or not.

“And school doesn’t take up a year-” Donald added, causing Zach to huff, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Fuck both of you- you guys know what I mean.” Elfrida nodded leaning over to gently pat Zach on the head. “Of course we do sweety, don’t pout-” she cooed. Zach pushed her hand away. “I’m not pouting.”

“Are you guys ready to get out of here?” Frank asked knowing that Zach could drag out this back and forth for ages, he was tired of standing, he wanted to spend the rest of the evening relaxing in the junkyard with his friends, not listen to them bicker with Zach.

“Yeah! Let’s leave this school for the last time.” William agreed. He had spent the last few days of school making sure he would be accepted into Derry High, getting a little help from his friends to secure his spot. 

“We are high schoolers now! Frank doesn’t have to be a loser who hangs out with a bunch of kids from jr. high anymore-” Zach teased, but Frank was quick to shake his head. “I don’t ever feel like a loser when I’m with you guys.” Elfrida made an “awww” sound rushing over to give Frank another hug. Wentworth just rolled his eyes heading towards the bike rack “Come on let’s leave before Mr. Creed sends us to the dark depths of detention.”

The group began unlocking their bikes, except for Wentworth who had to wait for Frank to get on his, grabbing his book before jumping on his handlebars, moving his head to the side so the other could see past him while riding. Frank felt like he could conquer the world, they all did, the air was cool, kids were happy summer was here. Anything felt possible.

They just didn’t know what anything could be. Having no clue about the things this summer would bring.

The things that would haunt them forever.


End file.
